Music Calms the Savage Beast...

I have to tell you that I love, love, love music! It literally inspires my moods. I even think in song, but that is another story. :-)

I grew up in a music-filled house. My mother had me taking piano lessons from the age of five and I continued on through high school. I even played the clarinet in my middle school and high school bands. I sang in elementary choirs, youth choirs, and church choirs. So it stands to reason that I would want to fill my home (homeschool) with music.

A while back I attended a lecture on Education is a Life and to this day that experience influences my homeschool goals. One of the take-aways from that day was how music can play a role in our education experience...and our moods. My husband moved a stereo on to the main floor and even set it up so that my phone could play the selections of Pandora throughout the house. Some mornings we are just not awake and so I feel the need to put a little 70's groove in our morning. Other days we are reading and working on more challenging concepts and so we put on our Vitamin String playlist. (Just saw that they made a tribute to Adele album. Love that!) Other times we put on our favorite Praise & Worship songs. I even have a special playlist for Italian-inspired meals. My youngest and I have been known to break out in dance in the middle of the kitchen.

My piano teacher used to always tell me that music tells a story and as musicians we are the storytellers. I love adding our own soundtrack to the story of our everyday. So next time things are feeling stressful, crank up the radio, iPod, Pandora, whatever and let the music inspire your mood!

What's on your playlist?